What's in a name?

You know what I love about RPGs? That you can name all your characters. Well, it's sort of love/hate actually, as I always feel the need to come up with something really cool, at least for the protagonist, anyway. Yes, I often find that naming screen to be the first obstacle I have to overcome, and I just can't get past it until something awesome has come to mind.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not a hardcore fantasy nerd who needs to name everyone "Throgdan the Destroyer", or anything like that. No, I usually just steal names from popular culture. For instance, in Final Fantasy VII, I battled the forces of Shinra as popular singer, Beck. Then in Final Fantasy VIII I took on Ultimecia's minions as well-known celebrity, Jesus (always a favorite amongst the kids). These brilliant names don't always come to me immediately, though, and I sometimes find myself wracking my brain for something just right.

There's one other problem with custom names that I found myself facing recently. You see, I'm still playing through Chrono Trigger on DS. Yes, I know I've been at it for a while, but I sort of got sidetracked, okay? Anyway, upon starting the game, I decided to call the main character Han (of the Solo variety). Then I thought it would be funny to carry on the theme and give everyone Star Wars names. It made my time-travelling adventure even more enjoyable, knowing that my efforts were helping rid the universe of the Imperial Forces.

So where's the problem? Well, as I said, I got sidetracked by other games, and came back to Chrono Trigger after a short break. Naturally, I had completely forgotten everything that had happened and had no idea where I was supposed to go next. So it was time for quick visit to Gamefaqs to re-orient myself and get a reminder of where I was headed. This is when I realized the error of my ways: Having re-named everyone, I had no idea who was being mentioned in the guide. Frog and Robo were pretty obvious, what with them being a frog and a robot (who I called Chewie and C3PO), but who in the world is Marle, or Ayla? They could be anyone!

Yes, I know that I could have looked up pictures of the characters then translated them back into the names of my trusty rebels, but it was tough enough trying to remember the time-bending story as it was.

So let this serve as a warning to anyone about to start a new RPG. Either leave the character names as they are, or at least familiarize yourself with their original titles, just in case. As for me, I'm sure I'll still spend hours trying to come up with the perfect moniker for my main dude, but will probably leave everyone else as they are. I'm afraid the Rebel Alliance will just have to make do without me......